The Forgotten Gryffindor
by Romulan Empress
Summary: MWPPL era. We all know about the four Marauders. But there are five boys in every year in every house. Who was the fifth boy this year? Why was he not a Marauder? Told from his point of view.
1. Welcome to Hogwarts!

Every year in every house has five girls and five boys. We know about the Marauders, but what about the fifth boy? Who was he? Why was he not a Marauder, if he roomed with all of them? This is the story of Tarin Gauvreau, the forgotten Gryffindor.

I stared up at the ceiling of my bedroom. It was a lovely ceiling, covered with ancient paintings that laughed and chatted amongst themselves. The whole chateau was ancient actually. It was Unplottable, and covered with invisibility charms, so Muggles had forgotten it existed. But I lived in Chateau Gauvreau with my family, and had all my life. There was Papa, Simon Gauvreau, the latest in a rather short line of Gauvreaus to own the chateau. Before that, some other family I had forgotten the name of had. Simon had all their names in a gigantic book somewhere, so it was not like it mattered. Simon was French, and the chateau was located in one of the northernmost parts of France.

Next there was Mother, Mercy Gauvreau. She was English. My whole family has dual citizenship (England and France) now. She is never home though, since she teaches Ancient Runes at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. That is where I am going for school this year. Joy. It sounds horrible. Then there was me. Tarin Francois Gauvreau here. What a horrible name. Tarin is Celtic and Francois is French, because my parents both wanted to name me after their nationality. How stupid. And of course, I was made horrible fun of for having such a ridiculous name. My little sisters got off easy. There is Melisande, who is currently seven, and Layne, who is five.

Of course, Mercy being a professor there and all, I have to go to Hogwarts early. I do not want to leave Chateau Gauvreau, and I will be the first to admit that I am sentimental. I even look the part! I have dark brown hair that often falls into my eyes, dark brown eyes which could only be described as "soulful," and I spent most of my time indoors, despite the fact that I could see the ocean from my bedroom window. Meli and Layne are much the same. Simon roomed them in a different wing of the chateau, fearing sibling fights, but get along really well. All of us act older than we are. Meli is particularly thoughtful and liked to write poetry. Layne is a bit more active, but then, she is five and she can get just as lost in a book as me. I am ten. I turn eleven in December. December first.

I knew arguing with mother for a local school was pointless. Hogwarts offered some of the finest education in Europe, and besides, Mercy was a professor there. So, though it was only the end of July, my trunk was packed and I was about to leave Chateau Gauvreau for almost a year. It was a thought that almost bought me to tears. So here I was, lying on my bed for the last time in forever, watching a painting of a young girl laugh delightedly at something the painting of her lover had just said.

"Tarin, darling, we are Flooing to The Leaky Cauldron now," Mercy's soprano floated into my room on some magic current. The chateau was far too big for shouts to go anywhere, so Simon had invented a series of magic currents, like air, that one could speak into and direct to a certain person. That was Simon's job- he invented new spells. He was brilliant, which is where we kids got our intelligence from, I suppose. "Meet me in the family room in five minutes." Five minutes... that was how long it took me to walk from my bedroom to the family room. The place was way too big for five people, that much was certain.

Mercy and I were soon standing in The Leaky Cauldron, a rundown place with way too much business for its size. I could tell Mercy was happy to be back in a place where everyone spoke English, that was certain. She was as good in French as any native, but English was still her mother tongue. Living in France, I was better with French, but my English was just as good as Mercy's French. We quickly walked through the Leaky Cauldron and into Diagon Alley. Our first stop was Gringotts, and then Ollivander's.

"Mercy Gauvreau, good to see you again," Mr. Ollivander said, coming out of the shadows in a really scary way to my ten-year-old self. "Ten and one half inches, oak, with one unicorn hair. I remember that wand well. And this would be your eldest child, Tarin."

"Hello sir," I said, albeit a bit nervously. Mr. Ollivander clapped his hands and a tape measure appeared and started measuring various parts of my body while the crazy shopkeeper scanned the dusty shelves, muttering to himself. At last he pulled down a single wand.

"Try this one. Twelve inches, made of oak, with a dragon heartstring," he said, thrusting it at me. I waved it and nothing happened. He snatched it back and gave me another one, which was thirteen and three quarter inches, redwood, and had another dragon heartstring. It did not work either. Luckily, I was pretty easy to match. My sixteenth wand was the one- fourteen inches, made of ash, with a single unicorn hair. Silver and green sparks had flown out the end when I waved it.

Next stop was to get an owl for me. I could use Mercy's, of course, or a school owl, but I guess Mercy wanted to get me something to make up for dragging me away from Chateau Gauvreau. I emerged with a medium-sized, grey owl who I named Etienne, the name of the first Gauvreau to live in Chateau Gauvreau. My owl was a living reminder of home. I think Mercy disapproved, but she said nothing. Instead, we shopped pleasantly, saving the best for last- Flourish and Blotts.

"Mother, since you have my school list, can I look at pleasure books? Please?" I implored.

"Of course," Mercy said absently, already scanning my list and not caring which way I went. So off I went to the fantasy section, my favorites. Simon, Mercy, and I all read the same sorts of books, as would Meli and Layne when they were older. My parents introduced me to them when I was nine. I was thumbing through a likely-looking book when another boy approached me.

"You like fantasy?" he asked, surprise coming through in his voice. I could understand that... not many guys our age did.

"Yeah," I said, closing the book and taking a good look at the other boy. "I'm Tarin Gauvreau. Who're you?"

"Severus Snape," he said, taking the hand I offered. We talked pleasantly for a few moments until Mercy came up carrying my school supplies. I introduced Severus to her, and she smiled at him.

"What school are you going to, Severus?" Mercy asked.

"Hogwarts; I got my letter a week ago," he said, suddenly looking much less happy.

"So am I," I said, my tone matching his. "Mother is Ancient Runes professor there, so I am obligated to go."

"I would rather be at Drumstrang or another school along those lines," Severus said. "I have no idea why my parents want me here instead. I think it has something to do with their best friends, the Blacks. Their oldest son, Sirius, is going to Hogwarts this year; I think it has something to do with the fact that his cousins go there, so my parents want me to go there too. Of course, they do not know that that slimy git Black and I loathe each other."

"Merlin, I'm sorry," I said, meaning it.

"Ha! Don't be. He probably will in Hufflepuff or something anyway, not Slytherin like any decent member of his family... Say, what house do you want to be in?"

"I don't know... Mother's family has all been in Gryffindor, so I will probably go there, but I'd rather be in Ravenclaw."

"Ravenclaw's good..." Severus said thoughtfully. "But Gryffindor- I pity you. You seem decent enough."

"Tarin, we have to leave," Mercy told me. I think she heard Severus insult Gryffindor. But like I had said, I could not have less house pride, for any of the four. I did not want to go to Hogwarts period. Reluctantly, I bid Severus a good day, knowing I would see him again in about a month.

"Did he seem like a good friend?" Mercy asked, interrupting my gloomy thoughts.

"Yeah. We going to Hogwarts now?" I asked. Mercy nodded, and we walked to the Leaky Cauldron, Mercy trying to explain all the teachers I would meet and all of it going way over my head. I knew that the famous Albus Dumbledore had returned for his second year being Headmaster, but that was about it. We arrived in a fireplace of massive proportions in what could only be the Great Hall. Mercy had described it many times to me, but that still could not compare to the sheer wonder of it. The bright sun blasting down from the charmed sky actually made me need to squint.

"Mercy, good to see you again," an old man with long, long white hair and an even longer white beard said, embracing her.

"It is good to be back, Albus," Mercy said. "This is my son, Tarin. Tarin, this is Professor Albus Dumbledore." My eyes widened as I realized I was staring at a legend, and staring I was. After all, I was only ten.

"Pleased to meet you, sir," I managed to get out, and shook his hand. I think he knew what was going through my head, but he was really nice anyway. It did not matter though; Mercy quickly whisked me away to be introduced to the other teachers.

It turned out that Professor Flitwick was the Charms teacher and head of Ravenclaw, Professor Narrio was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and head of Hufflepuff, Professor Keeler was the Arithmancy teacher and head of Slytherin, and Professor McGonagall was the Transfiguration teacher and head of Gryffindor. Mercy did not like her very much, mainly because it was Mercy's one goal to become head of Gryffindor. Narrio was an old lady who knew her subject very well and nothing else. Keeler was a middle-aged man who said his two favorite things were flirting and plotting world dominion, though I think he simply had a sense of humor. However, by far the most interesting was the Potions Mistress.

She was a young lady, only twenty, who had graduated from Hogwarts just two years ago. She was new to Hogwarts as a professor, and very excited about being there. A former Ravenclaw, she had dedicated almost her whole seventh year to Potions, and what little time was left she used supporting her house. She had dyed her hair Ravenclaw blue, but it was pretty, not outlandish. She had hazel eyes and was clearly more used to being student than professor. She treated me more like a friend than anything. I had a crush on her the moment I laid eyes on her.

"Professor Gauvreau, hello," she said when we entered the dungeon.

"It is Mercy now, Geranium," Mercy said. "You too are a professor. This is my oldest child, Tarin. He is starting Hogwarts this year. Tarin, this is Professor David." Geranium David grinned at me. I smiled back, but did not trust myself to speak.

For the next month, I was pretty much allowed to wander free around the school. The teachers had to get ready for classes and students, but Geranium seemed to take a liking to me. We were the closest to each other's ages, I supposed. This was fine by me. Geranium asked me to call her by her first name and generally acted more like a student than a professor. To my surprise, I found myself enjoying Hogwarts... a lot. The one month went by far too fast.

At last it was the day the students were to arrive. I would greet them at the door with Professor McGonagall, and then join them for the Sorting and in general act like a normal student. I was terrified. Nervously, I followed Minerva to the great doors, and soon three knocked were heard. _The moment of truth_, I though in terror as Minerva reached for the handle.


	2. Meet Your New Classmates!

WhiteRabbit5: I was going by information in the Harry Potter Lexicon (go to Google and type those three words in since the link never works). They address this issue one or two places in their site and say that there are five girls and boys in each house each year and give evidence. I am just playing with that idea a bit.

An Anti-Sheep Cheese Muffin: Thank you so much! I feel special now! Here is the update!

The door swung open to reveal thirty-nine ten and eleven year olds. At the front were two extremely hyper girls who could have been twins, had their hair and eye color not been different. (A/N: You and me, Natalia).

"Can you believe it? We are at Hogwarts at last!" the brunette screeched. "And I heard there is this hot, hot seventh year named Lucius..." Her chatter died away when she saw me standing there. I guess she felt guilty for talking about other hot guys in front of me. Truthfully, I did not care. I would have much rather found someone closer to Chateau Gauvreau. Several of the other first years gave me weird looks as they passed too. I suppose it was because I had suddenly appeared and was not on the train.

We went through the procedure Mercy had told me would happen- we waited in a small chamber off the Entrance Hall, then went into the Great Hall to be Sorted. The Sorting Hat sang a song describing the four houses, which only served to make me more sure that I wanted to be in Ravenclaw or Slytherin, like Severus, who was standing next to me. I closely watched who went where during the sorting. Black, Sirius went to Gryffindor. So did Evans, Lily. And all too soon, Gauvreau, Tarin, was called. Nervous, I went up to the hat and put it on.

"You want Slytherin or Ravenclaw, eh?" the Hat asked me. "Sorry, Tarin. You have a destiny to fulfill and the only place you can fulfill that destiny from is... GRYFFINDOR!" Disappointed, I took off the Hat and sat down away from Sirius because I remembered what Severus had said about him. Severus shot me a sympathetic look. Soon Lupin, Remus joined the Gryffindors, and sat near Sirius. The next person was Peenya, Valerie. The Hat was not even on her head before it cried, "SLYTHERIN!"

"Hope you can join me, Lynn!" she said to the brunette who was talking about Lucius, and grinning, went to sit at the Slytherin table. Next Pettigrew, Peter, and Potter, James became the last two Gryffindor boys. Richard, Lynn got her wish and sat next to Valerie and Severus became a Slytherin too. I watched them jealously, then turned to look at my year-mates. The other four boys were sitting together, seemingly happy. Oh well. I would meet them soon enough- too soon, I thought. Would it be too horrible to walk across the Hall and sit with Severus? I supposed I had better not- at least on the first day.

Professor Dumbledore stood up and gave his beginning of the year speech. Already knowing anything important (the Forbidden Forest was, well, forbidden, a Whomping Willow had been planted, give a welcome to Professor David, etc), so I got out my copy of Le Sorcier de St Tropez, an amusing story about a wizard who had terrified the Muggle tourists in St Tropez. Mercy shook her head at me from the High Table. Sometimes I hated having a mom for a professor. So, I raced through dinner as fast as I could and waited impatiently for the feast to be over.

At last, when I had decided that I was going to try to fall asleep on the table without catching Mercy's eye, Dumbledore dismissed us. I immediately ran to talk with Severus, who jerked his head toward the side chamber we were in earlier. Mystified, I followed him, wondering why we could not talk in the corridor. When we got there, Severus quickly checked to see if anyone was looking; no one was, of course. We darted inside.

"Uh, Tarin, don't take this the wrong way, but... one meeting in a bookstore does not cement a friendship. Since, um, you're a Gryffindor and I'm a Slytherin... I do not know..."

"You are embarrassed to be seen with me because Slytherins and Gryffindors do not interact," I said flatly.

"It's just this girl..." I heard him mutter under his breath. Shooting him a filthy look, I stalked out, intending to go straight to Gryffindor Tower. Having him as a friend here was about the only thing that could possibly make this place bearable. Unfortunately... no one else was there anymore. Severus came out a moment later and joined me in blackly staring around. "Uh, which way?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said. Both of us had completely forgotten our fight from a few minutes ago. Neither of us had wanted to go to Hogwarts in the first place, so while others spent time looking at maps so they would be ready their first day, neither of us knew the first thing, like which way the dungeons were. "Let's go back in the Great Hall- maybe a teacher will still be there."

"Good idea," Severus said. We went back in, only to see two girls left. They were the Slytherins, Lynn and Valerie, and they were pouring over a book lying on the table in front of them. Valerie looked up, favored us with a glare, and turned back to the book. Lynn looked up at us, and abruptly snapped the book shut.

"What- oh, them," Valerie said to Lynn. Turning back to us, she spoke a bit louder, "What do you two want? Can we not look a small book in peace!?"

"Excuse me," I said acidly. "We were merely sort of lost and hoped some person remaining in here knew the way to either Gryffindor or Slytherin."

"Well, we were going to the library after Madam Pince is gone," Lynn said.

"Breaking rules on the first day of school?" I asked with a smirk. "Isn't that daring."

"We're Slytherins," Valerie said with a shrug. "Besides, we live in the same town and we really do not feel like sharing a dorm with three other giggling, most likely popular girls. But what do you think, Lynn? Should we show these _kids_ the way to their houses?"

"You know, they are probably both older than us," Lynn said. Valerie gave her a look. "Er... why not?"

"Come on, Severus, the Slytherin common room is this way," Valerie said with an impatient air. "Lynn and I can finish looking at that manga tomorrow." I stifled a laugh at the look on Severus' face. Obviously, I had just found out who "just this girl" was. But Lynn was impatiently beckoning at me from the staircase, so I followed her. She did not speak much. She kept looking at his one picture in her "manga," whatever that was. I wondered if they were Muggle-born. It was not until Lynn had dropped me off at this hideous portrait of a really fat lady in a pink dress and left that I realized I had no idea what the password was.

"Are you the last Gryffindor first-year boy? I only saw four enter," the lady, whoever she was, said.

"Unfortunately," I told her. "Who are you?"

"No one has asked me that in years!" the lady said, looking delighted. "Most students just call me 'the Fat Lady,' but my real name is Lydia-Annabelle Pearton. But it is too late for an eleven-year-old like you to be up talking. The password is 'Filibuster's Fabulous No-Heat, Wet-Start Fireworks.' Two students named James and Sirius programmed it as a joke." She sighed and her picture swung open.

"I'm ten," I muttered as I walked inside. Girls! I would never understand any of them expect my sisters, Mercy, and Geranium. I found the room marked "First Years" in the boys' tower, and entered.

"There's the missing Gryffindor!" a boy with messy black hair, glasses, and hazel eyes said with excitement.

"Yeah, the four of us were wondering if you fell down a toilet and got eaten by a giant snake or something," another black-haired boy said. He paused in mock thoughtfulness. "Not that that would ever happen, mate! The name's Sirius Black. The guy with glasses is James Potter, the guy reading a book is Remus Lupin, and the guy who is looking at me weirdly- stop it, Peter!- is Peter Pettigrew. Who're you?"

"I'm Tarin Gauvreau," I said, trying not to let my annoyance show. The only half-decent seeming person in the room was Remus, but he seemed really nerdy. I mean, I read, but that was fantasy. This person was reading Hogwarts: A History. How insane could people get here? Peter though, had apparently noted my last name.

"Are you French?" he asked excitedly.

"I live on the northern coast," I said, a small bit of irritation starting to creep into my voice. These were not my type of friends.

"Can you speak French?" Peter asked. I did not even bother to dignify that with a response, and opened my trunk to look for a pair of pajamas. I quickly went into the bathroom to change, leaving the annoying four behind. I brushed my teeth and ran my fingers through my hair and prepared to go to bed and sleep until Judgment Day. Unfortunately, my troublesome roommates had other plans.

"Tarin, your Mum's teaching here, right?" James said the moment I came in.

"Yes..." I said doubtfully, not knowing where this was going.

"Well, do you know where the kitchens are?"

"Of course. I had to arrive here a month early, do you think I had anything better to do than explore the school?" Of course, Gryffindor Tower was the one place I had not bothered to try to find because I thought I would be in Ravenclaw. "Why do you want to know?"

"We're going to host a beginning-of-the-year party for just the five of us. We need refreshments!"

"Nuh-uh. I am going to bed," I said, marching purposefully towards the very inviting-looking piece of furniture. Two seconds later, James and Sirius were in front of me, back to back as though they were in some stupid Muggle spy movie.

"If you don't help, you can't join our club," James said with a raised eyebrow. "The others have already accepted. You would be the one Gryffindor boy all on your lonesome. You have one week to decide, of course."

"Oh, now I feel really bad," I muttered, rolling my eyes, pushing past them and falling into my new four poster.

"At least draw us a map," Sirius said, popping his head in. I slammed the curtains... or at least did what counted for slamming when it came to curtains. However, I could not get to sleep. At home, or in the temporary quarters I had had before Gryffindor, it was at least perfectly silent and there was a glimmer of light. Here, the four other boys chatted and laughed loudly. The curtains blocked all light, but I did not dare open them a crack or light my wand, lest the others realize I was awake and pester me more.

This was the beginning of my separation from those who would call themselves the Marauders. Peter was on the verge of being retarded, or so it seemed, and we had just about nothing in common. Remus liked to read, like me, but I was not near as smart as him, and I read for pleasure. James and Sirius had everything- girls, grades, and a million other things. I dated, yes, and did decent in school, but I was nowhere near their level. The Marauders' future and mine would not be tied together, this much I knew even at the age of ten.


End file.
